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WHILE over 100 made-by-Singapore films were being promoted to international buyers and distributors, Boo Junfeng’s Sandcastle was screened at International Critics’ Week and placed in the running for the Caméra d’Or.
At the same time, Singapore’s newly formed strategic partnerships heralding exciting filmed content captured the imagination of international media, and plenty of film executives went to the Singapore Party for a taste of the country’s media sector buzz.
Once again, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), leading its seventh expedition to the Cannes Film Market and Festival, pulled out all the stops to make the country’s presence as a Trusted Global Capital for New Asia Media strongly felt.
More New Singapore Features
Among the 100-plus Singapore-made features promoted at Cannes, 25 were new projects helmed by both emerging and established directors. Spanning a diverse range of genres, these projects represented a 25 percent rise in the number of new Singapore-made films promoted at Cannes as compared to last year – a sure sign of the local film sector’s growing maturity.
International film buyers, distributors and producers convened at the Cannes Film Market, 12–21 May, to network, develop projects and form partnerships. Singapore-based film industry players, led by MDA, also promoted their projects and capabilities under the Singapore Pavilion. Check out the daily highlights:
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Marketed at Cannes were recent co-productions funded by MDA’s International Film Fund, such as Neon Sign, the first collaboration between Singapore, China and Korea; and Bait, Singapore’s first stereoscopic 3D action thriller. Bait’s producers – Australia's Arclight Films and Pictures in Paradise and Singapore's Blackmagic Design – also announced at Cannes that filming would begin in July.
Features by emerging filmmakers that have been supported by the Singapore Film Commission’s New Feature Film Fund, such as Camera directed by James Leong, and Endless Day by Ho Tzu Nyen, were also promoted at Cannes.
Headlining the Singapore film slate was Sandcastle, directed by Boo Junfeng. The film held its own against other contenders for the Caméra d’Or, or Golden Camera, by playing to full houses during International Critics’ Week. (See Sandcastle Screened to Full Houses at Cannes Film Festival)
Filmed Entertainment Expo
Another piece of news that caught the attention of international media and film producers was MDA’s plans to launch ScreenSingapore, an international expo for film and entertainment that leverages Singapore’s position at the confluence of East and West.
MDA has roped in some of the best minds in the international film business to provide strategic directions for the event, including Mr Greg Coote, Chairman and CEO, Dune Entertainment, who chairs the Board of ScreenSingapore.
The inaugural edition of ScreenSingapore has been strategically scheduled for June next year, after the Cannes Film Festival and before the lucrative summer box office of the Northern Hemisphere. The event is thus anticipated to be a platform for studios wishing to promote their blockbuster movies in Asia and for those keen on showcasing Asian content to the world. (See Singapore Raises the Curtain on ScreenSingapore)
Media Financing Focus
International partnerships continued to be Singapore’s focus at Cannes. A new partnership was forged between MDA and Tiger Gate Entertainment to co-invest in a range of action, horror and thriller projects for worldwide television and film releases over the next four years.
MDA and Fortissimo Films also launched the MDA-Fortissimo Film Development Initiative (FDI), which is designed to give both Singaporean filmmakers and non-Singaporean producers a fast track through the process of developing their projects. FDI will see the development and financing of three to five genre films in the first year. Selected projects will benefit from Fortissimo’s development assistance and international sales and distribution expertise.
In addition, MDA and Hyde Park Entertainment will be collaborating on a reality TV series, which aims to spotlight fresh Singapore talent and projects. The winners will undergo an internship with Hyde Park Entertainment and stand a chance to have their projects co-financed by MDA and globally distributed by Hyde Park.
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